August eighth started with bioluminescent sea jellies glowing neon aqua-blue illuminated by the presence of the full moon. The limpid waters and moonlight allowed the jellies to glow as deep as two meters, giving the science team an underwater electric light show. Some of the bioluminescent jellies were caught in the jaws of “Manny”, the manta trawler. We found 22 small silver fish, three small sea jellies, and an astonishing amount of marine debris given our distance from the Northwest Pacific gyre. The collected debris included two pre-production plastic pellets,
also known as “nurdles.” After tedious work picking out the copious amount of fine and micro-sized particles, we decided to call it a night at 1:30 AM, to wake up again at 6 AM to prepare for our experiments at our first CalCOFI site.
Dr. Neal and Nicole Argyropoulos prepared the multitiered filtration system to analyze different sizes of fine-particulate marine debris and phytoplankton. Dr. Michael Gonsior, Dr. Margy Gassel, Heather Coleman, and Corinne Hume prepared Dr. Gonsior’s dissolved organic matter (DOM) analysis, gathering water samples from approximately 200 meters and also from the surface. By gathering water at these two depths, Michael believes that he will be able to analyze the dissolved carbon pool in that general region. He plans to gather the samples in this methodology at all the CalCOFI sites on our research route in order to understand DOM cycling in that area. This is the first attempt to analyze marine DOM in the Pacific Ocean using ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry and to compare it to the Atlantic Ocean. DOM samples from the Atlantic gyre located in the Sargasso Sea are currently being processed and will be compared to the Pacific gyre after this research cruise.
After lunch we pulled in the manta trawl and noted a decrease in the quantity of marine debris. We also collected more small fish and jellies in the cod end of the trawl. After seeing incorporation of fine particle polymers in the innards of the jellies, the Science Team considered jelly and fish collections for persistent organic pollutant (POP) analysis. Later in the day the wind picked up again, and we scampered aloft to unfurl the sails. By using wind energy, we are once again able to conserve fuel, continue along our research route, and make our trip as environmentally sound as possible. This ethic continues in the way we dispose of our waste, recycling plastic and other co-mingled containers and only discarding organic waste.
The Science Team started to notice an increase in large-sized marine debris floating in the ocean (e.g., buoys, plastic bottles, crate) as we approach closer to the gyre. When possible, the Science Team has tried to catch the large pieces of marine debris or slow the ship in order to scoop the samples. Unfortunately, were we to stop to retrieve every piece of debris, we would sacrifice precious time at the gyre. Later in the evening, we had a fantastic birthday feast and Dr. Margy Gassel prepared an incredible butternut squash soup as per request of Nicole Argyropoulos. With the good company of our on-board shipmates, we finished the lovely evening with a screening of the film “Life Aquatic.”
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